Peter,
That was me who posted that.
I also am not privy to any parts of the deal concerning Mastro into Legendary. I do know that Mastro was owned by an investment firm named Silk Road Equity. The day the announcement of the "sale" was made, I checked their web site and Mastro Auctions was no longer listed in their portfolio, but Legendary Auctions was. To me, this means the purchase/sale was done to extract Bill Mastro from the business.
A CPA (or an attorney) specializing in bankruptcies would know better, but the carefully worded phrase concerning the "acquiring the assets" is designed to move the assets and leave the debts behind. If those debts include consignors who are owed money, I'm surprised they are paying up this easily. Actually, I'm surprised that Doug even has that option. If the "ruse" was well constructed, you would think the creditors would have to chase Mastro through the courts for payment.
http://www.silkroadequity.com/Equity/Portfolio.html